The Comfort Zone.

We're off to a race this weekend.  There is a half-ironman event in St. George and I will be cheering alongside my children while D races his pants off.  A year ago, this was a full Ironman event and after too many people almost died, the powers that be modified the course and declared that going forward, it would be a half.  My husband was one of those.  Remember?  Ugh.  I wasn't there as there were other things scheduled that weekend and chose those over the race.  I'm not making that mistake again.

We are all going.  There are sacrifices being made all around- dance classes, swimming lessons, a tumbling recital and a baseball game will be missed so we can be there for dad.  Because he has made sacrifices too, mostly in the form of sleep and time at home so he can be prepared.  That was my one request when he started this triathlon madness a few years ago.  I'm on board if you'll put in the time to be prepared so it's not a disaster.  Well, we've seen disasters, but not due to the lack of preparation.  He's ready.  He's strong.  He's hitting the times he wants to see and it's going to be a great race.

It's going to be great because he has created it to be such.  A friend of mine, Justin Prince, recently wrote about ambition and the idea that the only thing standing in the way of ambition is comfort.  It's the same idea that my dad has driven into us since we were little... "get out of your comfort zone."  Growth doesn't occur in our comfort zone.  Dent's ambition consistently pushes him out of his physical comfort zone in order to reach a place that is slightly higher than he was before.  It is this ambition that we will be celebrating this weekend as he swims, bikes and runs his way through southern Utah.

It is this same ambition that has my children ready for the kids race that will occur the evening before.  They want to run further and faster than they did before and are well aware that this will involve some discomfort.  It is this same desire for something greater than my present state that has me working out consistently and eating like a nazi because there is a mountain on my calendar in August and my greatest fear is not being ready for it.

We have a comfort zone in every aspect of our lives.  At work and at home we can do the same thing day after day or we can reach for a slightly higher standard.  In school, Cooper can easily do a certain number of math facts in 4 minutes, but to become a Math Master, he needs to increase the number, so he stretches outside of his comfort zone and pushes a little harder- more timed tests, more flash cards, more talking through strategy so he can get there.  In regards to my responsibility to feed my family, we have moved well out of our former comfort zone when it comes to the food we are eating.  The old standards are no more and a new level of health has been established.  One area that is easy to sit tight in is our spiritual life.  If the daily routine doesn't include time for thoughtful prayer, time for meaningful service or time for digging into the scriptures, then fitting those things in isn't comfortable- it's a push, a sacrifice.  But if there is the desire for a higher plane, a closer relationship with Heaven, a constant companionship with the Sprit, we make time and it ends up being well worth the sacrifice and the steps we took outside of our comfort zone.

The questions that have been rolling around are these:  Am I happy where I am?  My answer is yes.  Do I want more?  Yes.  Am I capable of better?  Yes.  Can I achieve the things I want and my full potential by doing what I'm doing now?  No.  What I'm doing now is great, but where I want to be is amazing and completely worth the time, energy and discomfort it will take to get there.

I'm grateful for those in my life that inspire me, that ignite my ambition and help me want to be more than I am.  My sisters probably have comfort zones, but they step out of them so regularly, I think they have grown to be massive.  My brother has been tossed out of his comfort zone a few times and responds with more strength and surety than anyone else could.  My parents believe in and support and encourage me and have always done so.  The girlfriends in my life are incredible examples of women of strength, great mothers, happy wives and daughters of God who know just what their purpose is and will not be deterred.  Denten somehow conveys two messages- one, that who I am now is wonderful and enough and two, that he believes I can achieve amazing things and he'll support me in achieving them.  And he's incredibly patient while I continue to figure out just where I'm headed.

And so this weekend, we will pray for minimal wind, comfortable temps and be confident in the fact that ambition will get Dad across the finish line... and that angels will help the rest of us be happy cheerleaders until it happens!

Winter Escape

Dad can't go very long without an adventure and seeing as the helicopter didn't fly last year, these crazies were itching to get back up on untouched terrain.  Denten and I flew the coop and headed to Idaho to find winter.  We stayed in Teton Springs, near Victor and Driggs, just over the mountain from Jackson, WY.  It was heartbreaking that the weather didn't allow the helicopter to fly... well, heartbreaking for the hard-core.  For me it just meant that I had more ski buddies at Grand Targhee.

D, AB, Dad, Nanette and Brad

Sisters.  We were missing one.

The ski gang.  

D, AB, Brad, Nan, Jeff, Dad and Harrie

Kate, Wade and Dan were missed all weekend.

The second day the chopper was having issues so we made the most of a bummer situation with a trip to the spa and shopping in Jackson.

We met this disturbing creature on the way home.  He's lucky his wife appreciates his facial hair because the rest of us are not so kind.

Time away from children is necessary occasionally.  It was so nice and can't happen again too soon.

a quick road trip

Southern Utah is…

sleeping in grandma’s attic on squeaky beds. sweet rolls for breakfast. being reprimanded by grandma for eating sweet rolls for breakfast. and for not putting enough blankets on my children at night. playing catch on the lawn. breathing ridiculously clean air. allergies. morning runs. the county fair carnival. hearing “I want to go on the merry-go-round” 57 times a day. actually getting to ride the merry-go-round. taking turns between beckham-sized rides and cooper-sized rides. laughing so hard I cried riding the sizzler with cooper. kettle corn. very strange fair people. church in paragonah. grandma’s pizza. grandpa’s latest discoveries. seneca picking grandma’s flowers. cook-out at the cabin. wind. delicious dutch-oven dinner. watching my kids explore the mountain. the tire swing. a boy and his stick. seneca and the outhouse. cousins. cooper camping with his dad. and getting hot chocolate for breakfast. searching the hills for wild animals. learning to bugle for elk. a husband who could easily stay on the mountain for days and days. the county parade with the littles. dancing in the street. putting exhausted children to bed each night. hitting traffic on the way home. moving 20 miles in 2 hours. feeling gratitude for air conditioning, a full tank of gas, a dvd player, a vehicle that was comfortable and functioning well, sleeping children. spending time with family. grateful to be home.

seven things.

**I've been cleaning my little pants off this morning. My children have been playing very well with each other for hours and I have gotten a lot done. The family room is a complete disaster zone, but the rest of the house has made tons of progress.

**This is the first time I have come home from vacation to this home and while I still love my home, it's a little lonely. I want great friends closer to me. My circle of friends has changed a little since we moved and they are not all within 3 minutes of me, which is ok, but sometimes I miss the closeness.

**Adoption paperwork is in the mail and out of our hands. Dent and I are both ok if nothing happens right away, but I figure this way Heavenly Father can orchestrate things the way he needs to without us stopping Him. I've got to get this household under control before another one joins the madness!

**Speaking of madness, school starts in less than a month and we don't know which of two schools Coop will be walking into on the first day. We're going to need a lightening bolt to hit here for a decision to be made. soon, please.

**McCall was fabulous, as usual. There are zillions of pictures and you'll see them eventually, but it takes to much time to sift through them right now.

**I think swim team is over. Maybe one more day Wednesday if we want to go, but mostly it's done. Weird. Normal dinner routine can resume... I better gear up! Although tonight it's salmon tacos and they sounds delish to me.

**Finished River Secrets, the last of the Bayern Books, on vacay. I'm into The Help and believe I will really like but suddenly the time to read all but vanished...

quick thoughts.

so much to say, no time at all. leave in t-7 hours for airport with the whole fam-damily for vacation. first stop: albuquerque.

relay swim meet tonight. coop swam freestyle better than denten and I have seen him swim before. he's getting the hang of a few things. he also swam butterfly in two IM races. he has fun friends, is seeing progress in himself and having a great experience.

I tortured our children today, also known as made them help me clean the garage. holy smokes, even two-year-olds come up with fantastic excuses not to help. it is a bummer when we don't go in until the job is done! denten wondered if someone robbed us, we conquered so many piles.

denten has been all over getting our lawn to look like it's alive. major time, effort and water and I hope we see progress soon.

I got new KSO's and I'm super excited about them. they are going to be better than the ones I have when running off road and when I run the river next week... although I am not excited to run the river. rafts are super. inflatable kayaks combined with major rapids give me major anxiety. trying not to think about it. the rest of my family think rafts are for sissies and old people. I happen to fall into one of those categories.

I am almost done with Enna Burning, the book that follows Goose Girl. It was a little slower to get into, but I have flown through it in the last two days. The story is gripping once you're there. I also read Outliers. It is based on a very interesting concept and I kept wanting to talk to denten about it except that he hasn't read it. It influenced how I am thinking about schools for Cooper as well as other opportunities for my children. I generally prefer fiction and that was the case here, but the stories and examples were very interesting to me.

I must go to sleep now. early morning, suitcases, children, bags, airport ruckus... should be a fun day!

It's that time again...

for the Bitsilly Family Reunion! Three days in Tohatchi, New Mexico at Grandma's property. Bring tents, trailers, door prizes, lots of water and your dancing shoes and be ready for a party! JR will be on the loud speaker bright and early, so if the roosters haven't woken you up, without a doubt, he will. We'll start off with the family fun run/walk and then spend the day enjoying family, food, music and games.

costco- check
oil change- check
laundry done- check
packing- not check

Seneca has been asking all week if she can sleep in a tent at Grandma Silly's. I keep counting down the days for her. Coop can't wait for the limbo contest and the fireworks and Beckham wants to play basketball. what? that's what he said he was excited for. hey, there's a rez hoop there- maybe he has some undiscovered skillz...

Someone will braid Seneca's hair. DaNae will do someone's nails. Grandma will give a very long speech that I won't understand, but I will still be able to feel. Jo will make amazing frybread and I will eat too much of it. I will admire those eating mutton stew, but will not feel the need to participate in that particular tradition. We will go through lots of water, sunscreen and snacks and hopefully time with my book. I will sit and watch the dancing until I can't take it anymore and get up and participate even though I'm white and look ridiculous. We will catch up with cousins and enjoy the fact that all of my children are independently mobile and able to play easily. We will pray for no toads in the tent at night and no rattlesnakes in the hogan. The only thing missing will be uncle Drew, which is a major bummer.

so, until Monday... keep me in your prayers. you know, so I can get a little sleep and such...

today.

Dent dropped us off at the airport this morning and it was BUSY. We had plenty of time before our flight, but standing in multiple long lines was not ideal with my little busy crew. We had serious help from our angels today! We avoided the mega-long check-in line by slipping through the first-class line. We passed zillions of people in the security line and walked right to the front, courtesy of the "family line." We were originally assigned 4 seats on the plane, NONE of which were remotely close to each other. This doesn't work well when two of the passengers are two years old! We had great gate agents that made changes easily for us so we could all be together. We had a flight attendant from heaven who was loaded with extra patience and fun. Coop was fantastic on the plane, doing his workbook and projects. Seneca was happy about everything, happy about Cinderella (thank you sis. carter!), happy about snacks, happy about looking out the window. Beckham was friendly, saying "hi" to everyone who passed. He had a few turbulent moments on the plane, but we survived without any scars.

Gram and Grandpa picked us up, helped with luggage, car seats and kids. Took us to get some lunch then hunkered down for the 2-hour drive up the mountain during naptime. There were no naps, but again, we've had much worse as far as road trips go. The destination is just as everyone remembered it... fantastic. Cooper has already created a show for us in the basement.. it's amazing what he can come up with using beanbags, hula-hoops, balls and his body. A virtual circus, I tell you. Beckham is smitten with Grandpa and has found a best pal. Seneca and Gram made necklaces together and she's just happy to be here.

Tomorrow we explore the winter wonderland that is outside... ah, vacation.

the reason for the vacay.

The setting: the Snake Mountains overlooking the Teton Range.

The snow is soft, it’s steep, it’s untouched.

How do you get access to fresh powder like this?

Well, you ride in one of these, of course!

load your crew and your gear into a helicopter, have the pilot fly you as high as possible, where no one else has been and take turns swooshing down the entire mountain. try not to wipe out. repeat over and over again.

denten, lindsay

katelyn, dad

lindsay, katelyn, wade, dad, denten

denten is a man of few words, and he doesn’t throw them around lightly. he deemed the experience amazing.

back.

I'm home. Back from Jackson. Back from beautiful mountains, back from snow. Back from moseying, wandering and shopping. Back from delicious food and great dinner conversation. Back from laughing my head off with my siblings. Back from Wade's Olympic commentary that beats Bob Costas any day. Back from lounging in bed, an afternoon at the spa and multiple layers, all the time.

Back to happy kids. Back to a list a mile long... and only a week to get through it! Oh, lovely vacations!

Reunited, and it feels so good!

Our trip to San Diego over New Year's included cousin Xander's baby blessing, getting nailed by a seagull, a playdate and lunch with cousin Tessa, a super fun trip to Legoland, endless playing with the Eltons and being reunited with the Millers, who left us for the ocean 10 months ago. Seeing our kids together again was completely worth the trip. They treated us to a tour of the USS Midway, one of the fun places they frequent regularly. Jackson kept a close eye on Seneca, Boston and Cooper acted just like old pals and Beckham was absolutely content exploring on his own. It literally hurt me to walk away from them, mostly for Cooper's sake. He was so excited to see Boston and the afternoon simply wasn't long enough.














Let's do it again soon!

grateful for moments

like these:



this one was introduced to air hockey this weekend. I'm pretty sure 75% of his time was spent perfecting his game. at one point he was beating me 5-4 and said, "mom, I just want to play by myself." what? I'm not good enough competition??




D's brother is playing basketball for the Univ. of Alaska in Anchorage. They played in San Diego this weekend, thus the roadtrip. I'm grateful that he's happy, that he works hard and that my children love him to pieces.



more popcorn, please.



it went in. Drew's dad couldn't be there and was listening on the radio in Utah. we were excellent cheerleaders... he could hear us on the radio!



getting lip gloss from grandma.





dancing on the court following the game.



the robinson grandchildren minus one. Xander Robinson Elton was born this morning!! We just missed him, but judging from his predecessors, I'm pretty sure he's going to be adorable!

ny: the review.

- Dawat. If you have not eaten here, go. now. After becoming comfortably acquainted with Indian food in London, it's always a gamble as to whether a new place will live up to previous experiences. This place absolutely did. After the tikki masala, lamb rogan josh, coconut curry and a mouthful of other vibrant flavors, denten said, "my mouth has not disagreed with anything yet." The entire spread was fantastic. And the naan did wonders to temper the spicy flavors, and was oh so soft. It's so good that I think dad would contemplate a return trip simply for lunch.

- Daniel. The most exquisite French cuisine I've ever experienced. I'd been once before and nothing has ever come close in rivaling the flavors and textures this chef puts out. It had lots to live up to and did not disappoint. The atmosphere and ambiance is as formal and delectable as the menu. Katelyn, who has a history of avoiding anything closely resembling red meat was tempted with the rib eye and short rib combo and critiqued that it simply melted in her mouth, the tenderness of the meat was unbelievable. Denten is still trying to figure out how they cooked it. My black sea bass was paired with just the right flavors and the carmel chocolate molten cake was a little heaven to my tongue.

- Gabriel's. After the first two dinner experiences in the city, I was a little skeptical as to whether this one would be fantastic. I don't think it's the best dining experience I've ever had, but the food was delicious and interesting. I had a butternut squash ravioli with sage and burnt butter. It was so sweet, it could have been served for dessert! Katelyn's mushroom ravioli was a great compliment with a more savory flavor. D's appetizer of roasted sweet peppers served with buffalo milk mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto and drizzled with pesto was a combo of some of my favorite flavors and textures. Dad's veal took me back to one of my most memorable meals in London when I was introduced to the heavenly meat. The highlight was my "soft-hearted chocolate truffle cake flavored with grand marnier, served with vanilla gelato and raspberry sauce. My mouth was so happy. Although the pumpkin spiced creme brulee tasted just like fall and made me excited for more seasonal recipes.

- We headed from Gabriel's up to Lincoln Center for a production of "South Pacific." It was very entertaining, the leading lady was darling and the music terrific. We had prime seats, although the theater is arranged such that I don't think there were many bad seats. We had a peek into the pit and what goes on with the orchestra is sometimes as fascinating as what goes on up on the stage. The racial undertones in the play provided an interesting storyline as well as thoughtful breakfast conversation the next morning.

- There was the obligatory shopping, as my dad confirms that we have been indeed suckered into the consumerism that holds our society hostage. I figure my spending in fine places simply helps our economy pull out of its slump, correct? at the end of our days, I was ready for a fine hotel, a good book and sleep. all of which were at my disposal. the entire trip really was a treat.

this a very serious, strategic planning session- one of many where I thought mom would actually climb into her map, I pretended I had a better idea, Katelyn waited patiently, Wade did the obvious, Denten took pictures of all of us while Dad read in Central Park.




- As denten and I wandered up to the old hood late one evening, nostalgia overcame me. On Columbia's campus I told him I just wanted to cry, I missed it so badly. He wondered how on earth we ended up together. While life would be so different going back there today with a family than it was during our simple student life, I still think of the adventures the east coast holds and am so grateful for the opportunity to visit now and then, to fill my city cup and reluctantly return to the desert. I truly had a marvelous time.

ny: the art connaisseurs

I had very important thoughts regarding the kandinsky exhibit.

dad, katelyn and wade ascending the steps outside the met.

katelyn, in deep reflction.

dad, in even deeper reflection. or asleep...